8.3.5: Key Terms
- Page ID
- 97312
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)- acid rain
- corrosive rain caused by rainwater falling to the ground through sulfur dioxide gas, turning it into weak sulfuric acid; can damage structures and ecosystems
- analytical model
- ecosystem model that is created with mathematical formulas to predict the effects of environmental disturbances on ecosystem structure and dynamics
- apex consumer
- organism at the top of the food chain
- assimilation
- biomass consumed and assimilated from the previous trophic level after accounting for the energy lost due to incomplete ingestion of food, energy used for respiration, and energy lost as waste
- biogeochemical cycle
- cycling of mineral nutrients through ecosystems and through the nonliving world
- biomagnification
- increasing concentrations of persistent, toxic substances in organisms at each trophic level, from the primary producers to the apex consumers
- biomass
- total weight, at the time of measurement, of living or previously living organisms in a unit area within a trophic level
- chemoautotroph
- organism capable of synthesizing its own food using energy from inorganic molecules
- conceptual model
- (also, compartment model) ecosystem model that consists of flow charts that show the interactions of different compartments of the living and nonliving components of the ecosystem
- dead zone
- area within an ecosystem in lakes and near the mouths of rivers where large areas of ecosystems are depleted of their normal flora and fauna; these zones can be caused by eutrophication, oil spills, dumping of toxic chemicals, and other human activities
- detrital food web
- type of food web in which the primary consumers consist of decomposers; these are often associated with grazing food webs within the same ecosystem
- ecological pyramid
- (also, Eltonian pyramid) graphical representation of different trophic levels in an ecosystem based of organism numbers, biomass, or energy content
- ecosystem
- community of living organisms and their interactions with their abiotic environment
- ecosystem dynamics
- study of the changes in ecosystem structure caused by changes in the environment or internal forces
- equilibrium
- steady state of an ecosystem where all organisms are in balance with their environment and each other
- eutrophication
- process whereby nutrient runoff causes the excess growth of microorganisms, depleting dissolved oxygen levels and killing ecosystem fauna
- fallout
- direct deposit of solid minerals on land or in the ocean from the atmosphere
- food chain
- linear representation of a chain of primary producers, primary consumers, and higher-level consumers used to describe ecosystem structure and dynamics
- food web
- graphic representation of a holistic, nonlinear web of primary producers, primary consumers, and higher-level consumers used to describe ecosystem structure and dynamics
- grazing food web
- type of food web in which the primary producers are either plants on land or phytoplankton in the water; often associated with a detrital food web within the same ecosystem
- gross primary productivity
- rate at which photosynthetic primary producers incorporate energy from the sun
- holistic ecosystem model
- study that attempts to quantify the composition, interactions, and dynamics of entire ecosystems; often limited by economic and logistical difficulties, depending on the ecosystem
- hydrosphere
- area of the Earth where water movement and storage occurs
- mesocosm
- portion of a natural ecosystem to be used for experiments
- microcosm
- re-creation of natural ecosystems entirely in a laboratory environment to be used for experiments
- net consumer productivity
- energy content available to the organisms of the next trophic level
- net primary productivity
- energy that remains in the primary producers after accounting for the organisms’ respiration and heat loss
- net production efficiency (NPE)
- measure of the ability of a trophic level to convert the energy it receives from the previous trophic level into biomass
- nonrenewable resource
- resource, such as fossil fuel, that is either regenerated very slowly or not at all
- primary consumer
- trophic level that obtains its energy from the primary producers of an ecosystem
- primary producer
- trophic level that obtains its energy from sunlight, inorganic chemicals, or dead and/or decaying organic material
- residence time
- measure of the average time an individual water molecule stays in a particular reservoir
- resilience (ecological)
- speed at which an ecosystem recovers equilibrium after being disturbed
- resistance (ecological)
- ability of an ecosystem to remain at equilibrium in spite of disturbances
- secondary consumer
- usually a carnivore that eats primary consumers
- simulation model
- ecosystem model that is created with computer programs to holistically model ecosystems and to predict the effects of environmental disturbances on ecosystem structure and dynamics
- subduction
- movement of one tectonic plate beneath another
- tertiary consumer
- carnivore that eats other carnivores
- trophic level
- position of a species or group of species in a food chain or a food web
- trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE)
- energy transfer efficiency between two successive trophic levels